Eastleigh: 'Vote with your Hearts' urges Labour candidate

Leo Barraclough the Labour candidate in the marginal seat of Eastleigh has said voters should "vote with their hearts for policies they can believe in."

Mr Barraclough was reacting to remarks made by Gordon Brown to politics.co.uk. hinting Labour voters should back the Lib Dems in seats where Labour cannot win - a statement which was described as 'astonishing' by the town's sitting Lib Dem MP Chris Huhne.

He also revealed his disquiet that Labour supporters were already being asked to consider voting tactically.

"Here in Eastleigh we have Liberal Democrats telling people 'don't vote Labour and that will keep the Tories out' and I am uneasy with that," Mr Barraclough said.

When asked if there were any circumstances in which the Labour man would stand aside for the sake of the party, Eastleigh Labour party was unequivocal regarding their position.

A spokesman said: "Our candidate will not stand aside; we will be going after every single vote. The Labour party has good support here in Eastleigh.

"The only way to ensure a Labour government is not to vote for any other party tactically."

Despite coming third in the last election the Labour party still polled a respectable 10,000 votes and a 22% share.

However Chris Huhne remains the odds on favourite with the Conservative candidate Maria Hutchings close behind.

Canvassing in Eastleigh's busy market at the weekend, the Ms Hutchings dismissed the threat of a potential tactical swing against her saying: "People are telling us they don't want another four years of Gordon Brown. Vote for any party other than Conservative and that's what you're going to get."

In another development it has been reported that English Democrat candidate Malcolm Moore has withdrawn.